This review will contain spoilers for today's issue of
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #2.
One might think that combining a wholesome story with a tale about Krampus - the Anti-Santa who feeds off of the fear and negative energy of children - may be difficult to pull off, especially in 44 pages or less. Jody Houser has proven up to the challenge with the latest release of
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor.
The holiday special is complete with everything you would expect from a self-contained Christmas story - with elves, Christmas magic, and the dangling notion of whether or not Santa is real. However, being a Tardis tale - it obviously takes a turn when Krampus is revealed to be seeping fear and energy from children.
The Thirteenth Doctor is her usual brave and cheeky self in the face of danger, teaming up with an elf sent by "Jeff" (aka Santa) to help her and her friends Yaz, Graham, and Ryan to save an entire race of enslaved people from a workshop - and ultimately preserve the spirit of Christmas itself.
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #2 is a wholesome story that is welcome this time of year, while still managing to feature the intrigue and action that fans expect from their favorite Doctors. Houser proves that even the oldest tales can be twisted to fun and magic for the holidays with a fresh take that any fan of the Doctor will want to read for themself. - Four out of five.
The Doctor and her companions save Christmas from a contemptible coup by the cantankerous Krampus! But is everyone’s favorite Time Lord listed under ‘Naughty’... or ‘Nice’? The second half of a fun, festive sci-fi story from Jody Houser (Stranger Things, Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows).
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #2 hits your local comic shop today - Wednesday, December 18th, for $5.99, or you can grab the digital copy here.